McWatters wrote that examiners will have increased flexibility to conduct work offsite, noting that during a pilot program, examiners were able to conduct as much as 35% of an examination offsite.

"The NCUA expects this increased flexibility will reduce the time impact on credit unions, save on travel costs and increase staff productivity," he wrote.

McWatters also outlined the agency's supervisory priorities for 2019.

Bank Secrecy Act: Examiners will conduct more detailed reviews of credit union Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering programs in an effort to evaluate compliance with requirements for customer due diligence and for identifying beneficial owners of legal entity members.

Concentrations of Credit: Examiners will have a continued focus on large concentrations of loan products with specific risk. McWatters said that "concentration risk is defined as any single exposure characteristic or group of highly correlated exposures that have the potential to produce losses large enough to threaten a credit union's health or ability to maintain its core operations." If excessive levels of concentrated risk are identified, examiners will work with credit union management to identify strategies to decrease the risk.  Last year, the agency reported that the Share Insurance Fund had dropped $744.9 million as a result of the failures of Melrose Credit Union and LOMTO Federal Credit Union. Those two financial institutions had a large number of loans backed by taxi medallions. As the value of those medallions dropped because of competition from ride-sharing services, taxi drivers were unable to repay those loans.

Consumer Compliance: Examiners will continue to perform limited reviews of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Loan/Application Registers, as well as compliance with the Military Lending Act.

Current Expected Credit Losses: Requirements for CECL will continue to "evolve," McWatters said. However, examiners will inquire about how credit unions are preparing for the new accounting standard, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2022 for most credit unions.

Information Systems and Assurance: Examiners will continue to use the Automated Cybersecurity Examination Toolbox (ACET) in conducting assessments. Examiners will use the tool to evaluate credit unions with more than $250 million in assets that have not previously received an assessment. Examiners also will assess credit union supervision of service providers.

Liquidity and Interest Rate Risks: "The projected economic fluctuations in 2019 make this an increased area of emphasis," McWatters wrote. "When rates rise, it puts pressure on credit unions to raise deposit rates in order to maintain deposit account volume." McWatters added that competition from mobile banking and internet banking applications and fintech companies may result in increased challenges to retain low-cost core deposits.